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Too Stressed To Sleep?
If you're too "wound up" to get to sleep, or not getting a restful sleep, your body may be pumping out too much of its "stress hormone," cortisol. Cortisol is nature's "fight or flight" hormone, priming us with the burst of energy we need to sucessfully deal with temporary stress.
The human body normally releases cortisol in a pattern to harmonize with the sleep/wake cycle. Levels fall at night, allowing the body to relax. A rise in early morning levels helps us get out of bed.
If your body keeps producing too much cortisol during the day and throughout the night, you may have trouble winding down and falling asleep. Or you may wake frequently at night, or not feel rested upon rising in the morning. That's because your deepest, most restful phases of sleep, such as rapid eye movement (REM), only occur when cortisol levels are extremely low. Scientific studies show that higher levels of cortisol increase the amount of light phase sleep — called Stage One sleep.
Another hormone produced by your adrenal gland, called DHEA, serves to balance many of the effects of cortisol. Studies show that DHEA can significantly increase REM time during sleep, encouraging a deep and rejuvenating night's rest.
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StressCheck
If you are interested in learning more about a BodyBalance product that measures levels of DHEA and cortisol, then please visit the StressCheck product page. |
References:
- Born J, et al. Night-time plasma cortisol secretion is associated with specific sleep stages. Bio Psychiat 1986;21:1415-1424.
- Born J, et al. Gluco- and antimineralocorticoid effects on human sleep: a role of central corticosteroid receptors. Amer J Physiol 1991;260(2 Pt 1):E183-E188.
- Freiss E, Trachsel L, Guldner J, Schier T, Steiger A, Holbsboer F. DHEA administration increases rapid eye movement sleep and EEG power in the sigma frequency range. Am J Physiol 1995;268(31):E107-E113.
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